Overflowing Toilets Disrupt 200 Students In Maitland

A Problem At A Nearby Sewage Lift Station Caused The Trouble At Dommerich Elementary, Officials Say.

April 13, 2005|By Mary Shanklin, Sentinel Staff Writer

MAITLAND -- The heavy smell of sanitizer hung in the air and yellow plastic "DO NOT ENTER" tape was draped across stairwells Tuesday after a sewage backup forced the evacuation of about 200 students at Dommerich Elementary School.

An electrical problem at a sewage lift station near the school caused the first-floor toilets to back up, sending raw effluent flowing into the hallways. Longtime Principal Robbie McNabb described it as a clear liquid.

At about 10 a.m., 12 kindergarten and second-grade classes were sent to other classrooms in the three-story building on Choctaw Trail.

"We had the children out so they were not playing in it," McNabb said.

By 4 p.m., steam cleaners had vacuumed up the liquid, and industrial fans were blowing down the hallways.

McNabb said the school would be ready for children today.

Built 40 years ago, Dommerich serves 722 children from Winter Park and Maitland in kindergarten through fifth grades. The school is scheduled for a renovation starting in three years.

Maitland Mayor Sascha Rizzo said he hopes local schools never have to go through something like that again.

"Anything that would accelerate the revitalization of our schools would be appreciated," Rizzo said.

Dommerich is expected to benefit from a $1 million pledge to three Maitland schools made by a condominium developer this week.

McNabb said a similar problem occurred during power outages in the aftermath of hurricanes early in the school year, but students were not in the building at the time. In this case, she said, they evacuated as they would for tornadoes.